Publisher’s Note: In Part I of this piece, I described a new way of looking at how living things relate to their environment, using the sole lens of whether their genomes had been exposed to any given experience during the 3.5 billion years over which DNA has evolved. I suggested that, from a biological perspective, genomes were completely unprepared for things invented in recent times.

Last week I gave the example of jet lag, with the promise of detailed scientific studies in Part II. (Part I must have struck a nerve, as it brought in more new members than any other SNS issue in recent memory.)

In Part II, as well as providing more science on this subject, I include more areas of concern and examples of the risks we face when we ask our genomic “equipment” to do jobs for which it was not designed, and for which it has had zero experience, including increased exposure to cosmic radiation, medical x-rays, and processed foods, none of which existed during the creation and testing of our genomes – and all of which lead to higher health risks. From disrupted biological clocks (in our cells and those of our microbiome) to unexpected toxic effects from new chemicals in what we eat, drink, and breathe, virtually all of these mismatches between genome and environment lead to reduced life expectancies. – mra.